Over the past decade, the Employment Group has completed more than 100 research studies. Major quantitative evaluation studies have accounted for a large proportion of recent work. However, we are building up a team of researchers with qualitative skills. This has been investigating labour market inequality and disadvantage, as well as new programmes and new methods of delivery for government services and policies. Other work has addressed the prediction of long-term unemployment, the impact of the flexible labour market, transitions between school and work and changing patterns of employment relations. The Group currently consists of 12 permanent research staff plus external research associates. Disciplinary backgrounds of those currently working in the Group include sociology, economics, political science, statistics, psychology and industrial relations. The Employment Group's programme of research depends on researchers' interests and funding opportunities. There is a high degree of team-working and interchange of skills.
The work of the Group currently addresses three broad themes:
The Institute, in consortium with four other research organisations, is part of a research partnership with the Employment Service for the evaluation of labour market programmes. Current projects involving quantitative analysis include evaluations of joint claims for Jobseekers' Allowance; New Deal for Partners; personal adviser meetings for lone parents; New Deal for Young People in Scotland; and ONE. Current projects based on qualitative research include an evaluation of young men's initiatives (funded by the John Lyons Charity/City Parochial Trust).
The Institute is one of the co-sponsors of the Workplace Employee Relations Surveys (WERS) and formed part of the research team which analysed the latest 1998 survey. Current projects involving quantitative analysis include: a national survey of employees in Britain funded under the Economic and Social Research Council's Future of Work Programme; an evaluation of the impact of tax credits on employer costs, staff recruitment and wages, funded by the Inland Revenue; a project examining the implications of transferring jobs from the public to the private sector, funded by the Office for Government Commerce; the relationship between union membership and job satisfaction, involving cross-sectional analysis of WERS 1998, funded by the Leverhulme Trust; and an analysis of the employment transitions of the over 50s, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Current projects based on qualitative research include the labour market experiences of young people with multiple disadvantages (Joseph Rowntree Foundation); the activities of older people outside the labour market (Joseph Rowntree Foundation); and the employment barriers faced by refugees (Department for Education and Skills).
Much of the Group's work in this area is funded by the Department for Education and Skills. A two-year programme of work is analysing the latest Youth Cohort Survey which addresses the operation of the labour market as it affects young people, and their participation in training and education. Further projects include a feasibility study for the long-term evaluation of Modern Apprenticeships; consultancy work on the evaluation of basic skills training; and evaluation of the New Deal for Lone Parents In-Work Training Grant. The Group is keen to expand its programme of work in this area.
Employment research at PSI is both quantitative and qualitative and covers both individuals and organisations. PSI is one of the four co-sponsors of the Workplace Employee Relations Surveys and has a long running programme of analysis of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Data are also generated for specific purposes, through the design of ad hoc surveys. The group also makes use of the major data sets available from the Economic and Social Research Council Data Archive, particularly the Labour Force Survey, the British Household Panel Survey, the Family Resources Survey and the National Child Development Survey.
Our methodological approaches are under continuous development. PSI employment researchers were amongst the pioneers of large-scale surveys of employers with respect to practices in their firms. More recently, our evaluation research uses advanced control and comparison group methods. The group runs an internal seminar series attracting domestic and international speakers on both methodological developments and topics in line with researchers interests.
The Employment Group's research is highly collaborative. Nuffield College Oxford and PSI have jointly conducted several employment-related studies over the past 10 years. In addition, the Group currently has close links with the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation in New York, the University of Western Ontario, the University of Melbourne, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
The Group is currently funded from the following sources: the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education and Skills, Department of Trade and Industry, Scottish Executive, Department of Health, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Rural Development Commission, the European Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission.
| Helen Barnes | h.barnes@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2233 | more |
| Dorothe Bonjour | d.bonjour@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2278 | more |
| Alex Bryson | a.bryson@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2225 | more |
| Richard Dorsett | r.dorsett@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2276 | more |
| Maria Hudson | m.hudson@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2217 | more |
| Genevieve Knight | g.knight@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2206 | more |
| Jane Lakey | j.lakey@psi.org.uk | 020 7486 2230 | more |
| Steve Lissenburgh | s.lissenburgh@psi.org.uk | 020 7486 2233 | more |
| Jane Parry | j.parry@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2215 | more |
| Melahat Sahin-Dikmen | sahindm@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2241 | more |
| Deborah Smeaton | d.smeaton@psi.org.uk | 020 7486 2217 | more |
| Rebecca Taylor | taylorr@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2313 | more |
| Michael White | m.white@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2246 | more |
| David Wilkinson | d.wilkinson@psi.org.uk | 020 7468 2217 | more |